Their music is as tight a fusion of metal and hip-hop rhythms as anything on the radio today, but their message is what hits home the hardest. And it hits not like a hail of grievances, but rather as a positive instrument for change, for hope. It's a message aptly summed up in a single word, which is appropriately the name of the band's second album on ForeFront Records: Engage. The multi-genre, multi-cultural mélange has helped the band reach out to a broad cross-section of fans, making PAX217 feel at home whether performing at Christian rock festivals or in front of New York City's hardcore punks, and even a handful of dates on the Warped Tour. "We just feel that we've been called to play music for anyone, anywhere — white, brown or black, Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Buddhist," says Duran. "That's the whole theme of Engage — telling your stories to the world, and letting your actions speak love through the music and interacting with people at shows." "We want to get involved in people's lives without being political or doing anything that's going to benefit us. Everybody can relate to wanting to be loved. That's the bottom line. We must engage people to make a difference."